Winding Stair Gap to Wesser Bald Observation Tower---April 19th

The hitch to Franklin's easy. Dang right! Yeah, that's for sure.
With the help of a family roofin' man and a coffee connoisseur.

Up at the crack of dawn to be sure to be down at the road for the hitch at 7 a.m.  I'm hoping to get a lift from some kind soul going to work this morning.  A few minutes with my thumb out and a white pickup passes me by.  A minute later I see it coming back up the road in the opposite direction and I knew I had my ride.  The driver was part of a family roofing business (Dad was the owner) and since he was going through Franklin anyhow, he reckoned he ought to take me there too.  Right kindly of you, mister.  Because of all the severe weather recently, business was hopping.  Everybody was out on calls and working OT to try and answer them all.  Get while the getting's good.
With door to door service, he dropped me off right in front of the entrance to Shoney's.  Wolfing down platefuls of breakfast food by 7:30, library at 9, outfitters at 10, supermarket resupply at 10:30, out on the highway at the edge of town by 11, just like clockwork.  Ten minutes of trying my luck and a young man in a four door sedan pulls over.  He works as an associate in a coffee co-op.  Now I'm not a coffee drinker at all, but he was able to teach me a thing or two about the enterprise on our short trip to the trailhead.  I especially liked the information about how the co-op works with local growers in third world countries so that both parties benefit from the endeavor.  Good beans!
Back at Winding Stair Gap I stuck my head under a pipe that was shooting out spring water by the gallon and as the cold water ran over my hair and down my back I reflected on how lucky/blessed I'd been with a perfect resupply and turnaround.  Elated, I gulped down a couple of liters of the liquid refreshment, topped off my bottle and returned to the trail. 
I met a Swedish guy on the last part of the paved walk that led to Wayah Lookout and he had the same opinion as me about the two obese people walking past us to their car in the parking area.  With the obesity problem at epidemic proportions in the U.S. and growing ever larger in other nations, why not move that parking lot a little further down the hill.  Heck, at least they were out getting a (very) little excercise.  Better that than sitting in the recliner at home. Felt sorry for the Swede when he told me he probably wouldn't be able to finish the entire trail before he had to go home.  I asked him why and he told me he was hiking with his American friends who were averaging only 12 miles per day.  He needed to average 20 to complete a thru-hike before his return flight.  I wondered aloud if his friends were aware of this and he said they were, but were unwilling to push further, hike faster or stay on the trail longer.  He really wanted to finish but if he were to do it, it would mean abandoning his friends and striking out on his own.  I think he felt a little trapped and he'd have to make a tough decision in the very near future.
One thing I learned about my own hiking ability today is that I'm a strong climber compared to most others.  I passed a good portion of hikers on the ascents today.  To have legs shaped by the longer climbs of the Pacific Crest Trail last summer is a huge advantage.  Yes, it's true that the Appalchian Trail has more ups and downs, but I know they are of much shorter duration than the 7,000 feet in elevation gain coming out of Saied Valley in Northern California.  With that in mind I try to reach the tops without stopping.
I considered stopping at Cold Spring Shelter, but it was buzzing with flies so it wasn't a difficult decision to continue.  Another evening of racing the sun.  Would it set before I reached Wesser Bald Observation Tower or would I be standing on top taking pictures as it dipped below mountains on the horizon?  An extremely close race and one that ended in a photo finish!  I won, I won, I won and I've got the picture to prove it.  Rolling ridgelines stretching out before me, the last rising to meet the orange sky.  As the night closed in, I set up my tent on a small grassy patch at the tower's base.  A cold wind began to blow and a nearly full moon rose slowly bathing the ground and trees in soft pale light.

Swinging Lick (Carved by some joker to look like Dick) Gap
Wayah Bald Lookout
Fire Ring at Trailside Camp
Rolling Ridgelines at Sunset
Moonlight and Branches



     
     

Maupin Field Shelter Junction to Waynesboro---May 15th

This morning, with everything left out on the tables, the food fest continued with me nibbling on chocolate chip cookies and downing a bowl of frosted mini-wheats.  After breakfast, Mike took me back up to the trail as he had promised the day before and I was hiking by 7 a.m. 
The sun was out, which, compared to the thick fog of the last several days, made the morning pleasant.  I thought that last night's heavy rains had sufficed to release enough atmospheric moisture so that there would be sunny days ahead.  That's the reason why I thought nothing of the line of  thunderclouds in the distance as I took in the lovely views from Cedar Cliffs.  However, over the next hour or two those same clouds moved ever nearer.  Then, just coming down from Humpback Rocks, it started to sprinkle and before long the rain was coming down in torrents.  I was caught out in it about two hours from Paul C. Wolfe Shelter.  The path turned into a stream and giant puddles formed.  Mill Creek,  just before the shelter, could be crossed on a normal day by stepping on flat stones leading to the other side.  On this day it was a different story altogether.  The water level had risen well above the stones and a knee high ford in the storm swollen creek was required in order to cross.
Getting out of the rain at Paul C. Wolfe, I introduced myself to the three older section hikers also taking refuge beneath its roof and proceeded to change into dry clothes.  As soon as that was done, I took a seat at the picnic table and devoured the sticky buns I'd packed away for today's lunch. 
The section hikers took off as the rain lessened and I made a break for it when the sun first managed to peek through the clouds. 
There were a few more showers on the way to Waynesboro, but nothing heavy and the sky was clearing.  I passed the section hikers before reaching the road, but waited once I got there, hoping that one of them would have a phone because on the back of one of the guardrail posts was a list of telephone numbers of the local trail angels that would surely be willing to give us a ride into town if contacted.  Luckily for me, the first section hiker had a mobile.  He dialed the number and the voice on the other end said, "I'll be there in ten minutes."  True to his word, Dubose arrived and it was door to door service from there, dropping all four of us off where we wanted to be in town.  As I got out at the YMCA, Dubose asked me if I was planning on leaving tomorrow.  When I said I was, he told me to give him a call and he'd take me back to the trailhead.  Waynesboro does indeed have a wonderful network of trail angels.
After registering at the reception desk I walked to the nearby tenting area and set up camp.  Satisfied that my things were secure, I returned to the Y and had a nice long hot shower---extra steamy.  Ah!  Weighed myself---160 pounds, down from my normal weight of 180 when I'd started the Florida Trail back in February.  A bit worrisome.  Certainly don't want to lose too much more.  The remainder of the tranquil evening was spent wandering through town and getting something to eat for dinner.  Once again at the tent, I could see towering thunderheads building all around, the first drops hitting the tent at eight.  Read a little and then lights out.

View from Cedar Cliffs 

Long Pond Stream Lean-to to Carl A. Newhall Lean-to---July 6th

A fair amount of rolling up and down today, but the climbs were not bad at all.  Though hazy,  there were some pretty good views from the rocks on Barren Mountain, where I met another youth group that had spent the night at Cloud Pond Lean-to. 
Fourth Mountain Bog was one of my favorite places in the 100-Mile Wilderness.  Not large, but a very unique and fragile ecosystem, it had both pitcher plants and bullfrogs.
Dropping low to cross Katahdin Iron Works Road, I forded the West Branch of Pleasant River a short time later.  I met dozens of day hikers either heading towards Gulf Hagas, a narrow canyon with many spectacular waterfalls, or heading back to their cars which were parked at the trailhead.
I was at the shelter by 4 p.m..  A group of four young guys were playing cards there, but they cleared out to make room for me.  They left to rejoin their youth group in the tent sites on the opposite side of the stream.  The sobo hiker already there asked if I was alright.  I couldn't think of any reason why I wouldn't be.  The fact is that I was not used to stopping so early and felt that I should have still been out on trail, making miles.  I get easily bored in camp because my usual routine is to just eat and go to sleep.  I suppose the person I was sharing space with may have considered it rude of me to whip out a book at start reading, but I wasn't in the mood for the common trail banter. 
Thankfully, for both him and me, a lady with her dog stepped in.  The first words out of her mouth were "f**king ups and downs" and then she set in on berating her dog for its disobedience.  I wished she had just shut up.  What did she expect from a region called the 100-Mile Wilderness, a garden path?  If she was so upset with her dog, why did she bring it?  If I wasn't in the mood for trail banter, I certainly couldn't stand a bunch of complaining.  I dove even more deeply into the pages of my book, shutting both of them out completely.  They were free to revel in their pity party.
A storm rolled in at six, darkening the sky and bringing the normal heavy rain, lightning and thunder.  The weather seemed to match the way I was feeling--- restless and agitated.

Atop Barren Mountain
Entering Fourth Mountain Bog
Bullfrog
A Fragile Ecosystem
Pitcher Plants
Stream Ford